Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2007 January 1

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1 January 1

[edit] January 1

[edit] Articles

How do I make a new section of an Article? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by BrandiniTheGreat (talk) 21:30, 31 December 2006 (UTC).

See here for the answer to your question. Also, please sign your posts with four tildes (~~~~) so we know who you are =] - Minkus 01:47, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Trans-wikiing pictures

I recently requested a translation of the French Wikipedia article, w:fr:Tremblement de terre de Bâle de 1356, to 1356 Basel earthquake. Someone added an interwiki link to the German article, which is w:de:Basler Erdbeben. I notice that the German article has an image - w:de:Bild:Erdbebenkreuz.JPG. The image only exists at the German Wikipedia, but seems to be GFDL from my limited knowledge of German. What I want to know is (a) can anyone translate the German on that image page; and (b) can I download that picture from there and upload it to Commons or to en-wikipedia?, and if so, which is best. Maybe contacting the uploader over there is best, but my German is not good enough to do that. Any suggestions? Carcharoth 01:50, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Answered on user's talk page. - Mgm|^(talk) 11:38, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How to propose a new Template?

I found a nice template for Operas articles in the Italian wiki. I'd like to suggest that the same template be used in the English wiki. How would I make such a suggestion? Luca priorelli 02:21, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Well, there are a number of things you can do, but what I usually do is create it (or just copy and translate it from the Italian Wiki in your case) in your userspace (e.g. User:Luca priorelli/opera template), make the nessisary adjustments and just be bold and put it on the appropriate articles. If there is a Wikiproject for Opera you could check in there as well and they should be able to help you out.

†he Bread 02:32, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

There is an opera project, see Wikipedia:WikiProject Opera. You can also ask at Wikipedia:Requested templates. -- Rick Block (talk) 04:49, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Note that if it's a stub template, it is usually best to propose it first at WP:WSS/P (The Stub sorting WikiProject proposal page). Grutness...wha? 05:05, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Single account can be used in all language version??

Single account can be used in all language version??

for me,I regisitered in English version. My account can or can't be used in Chinese or Indonesian version??

Thanks for help. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 61.64.156.25 (talk) 03:24, 1 January 2007 (UTC).

Not at the moment. However, the wikimedia developers are working on a single sign-on which will make this possible in the future. Bjelleklang - talk 03:27, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Life

--Destepstow 03:28, 1 January 2007 (UTC)Happy new year. please i want to know more about live? how can i leave a good live, i want to leave a good live.

[edit] How to report a article vandalism behavior??

I found a article vandalized by other. How to report that action??

thanks for help. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Hattonchiu1 (talk • contribs) 03:40, 1 January 2007 (UTC).

To report vandalism, go to Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism. If the person has only vandalised once, the best thing to do is to warn them first before reporting them there. Raven4x4x 04:08, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Seven Marks

i have typed in: the seven marks of the seven angels and all i got are a list of angels and other types of information not corrosponding with the marks of them. I did get the symbols but that is not what i am looking for. The marks are on the bible wheel i believe. I was wondering if u have any articals that are about the marks or one that can redirct me to a site about them.

Thank you for any help i may receive, Paul

[edit] Wake from Sleeping Instructions in English

I want to know how to wake it from sleeping mode. Also, the only instructions were in other languages, not English. Where can I print the English instructions? Thank you! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 4.235.177.194 (talk) 04:28, 1 January 2007 (UTC).

If this is a serious question I believe you should clarify it. X [Mac Davis] (DESK|How's my driving?) 04:33, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Image Tag

Hello

I posted a photo of "Cheri Huber" on the page I edited. I got a message saying it would be taken down etc. I looked into how to 'tag' the image but it's all very confusing. It's an image from her web page - what tag should I put and how?

Thank you.

Nearly all images on the web are copyrighted under terms intended to prevent anyone from reusing them. Images uploaded to Wikipedia must be available for reuse, so unless it's an image you created yourself (that you're willing to release under a basically "free" license) you generally can't upload it to Wikipedia. Please see Wikipedia:Image use policy. -- Rick Block (talk) 07:39, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

'Created' is too vague in this context. You have to have taken the picture. For example, making a capture from a video means you created the image, but that still doesn't allow you to post it, because you didn't have the right to make a derivative work of the video in the first place. - Mgm|^(talk) 11:32, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] When did that "Undo" button appear?

I'm talking about the link, next to "edit" on a diff page, that basically auto-reverts an edit... I just noticed it (I don't know how new, or old(!) it is), and it's very helpful! Bduddy 08:02, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Couple weeks ago... or so. Dismas|^(talk) 10:29, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Interwiki redirect

Is there a way to have my userpage on another project (like Wiktionary) redirect to my wikipedia one? Scienceman123 talk 08:42, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Just add the prefix "Wikipedia:" before the normal link: [[Wikipedia:User:Scienceman123]]. :-D — Editor at Large ^(speak) 08:47, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. Scienceman123 talk 08:49, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Wait. It only shows the arrow and link, it doesn't automatically redirect. Scienceman123 talk 08:51, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Oh, I'm sorry! I just provided the link. To redirect you need to use

#REDIRECT [[Wikipedia:User:Scienceman123]]

or you could just offer a link on your page, like at m:User:Editor at Large; this way people know they are clicking somewhere that will take them away from the project they are currently at. Sorry about the mistake! — Editor at Large ^(speak) 10:36, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Actually, I'm pretty sure cross-project redirects don't work, so you'll have to just provide the link (incidentally, just w:User:Scienceman123 should work, I believe) and let people click it themselves. Confusing Manifestation 12:28, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Hmm... maybe I shouldn't give advice when I'm tired. At any rate, you're right; the redirect doesn't work. It does show the redirect page, however, which is perhaps more obvious than a simple link... and negates the need for formatting such as large font to make the link more obvious/visible/noticeable.

And "w:" is the short form, yes... I use the full version as a personal preference, and forgot to use/mention the shorter form most people use. My apologies! — Editor at Large ^(speak) 20:22, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Suggest looking at {{softredirect}}. 68.39.174.238 08:13, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] ADD article

Hey folks, I just looked up the page on ADD, which should be disambiguation for the term, but it looks like it's been vandalised or badly edited in the last edit - I don't know how to revert though, so.. if someone else could do it, that'd be great. Thanks :) --24.18.236.29 10:02, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Fixed - and thank you for the 'heads up'. Please see your user talk page 24.18.236.29 for instructions on how to do this yourself. SkierRMH 10:07, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Richard Dawkins article has been vandalized

I have never edited a Wikipedia article, so don't know how to fix it, but wanted to draw your attention to the Richard Dawkins article. It has been vandalized this morning. Thanks.

It appears that the article has already been fixed; thanks for pointing it out. For information on fixing articles, see WP:REVERT. Cheers, Tangotango 13:58, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Proofreaders needed

Proofreaders are needed for the various lists listed at Lists of basic topics.

Many of the basic topic lists are incomplete. So if you have a spare moment, please pick a subject you are familiar with from those listed, click on it and browse that list to see if any gaps or holes pop out at you, and then fill in the holes with links. Like if you read List of basic aerospace topics and noticed space shuttle is missing, simply add that link to the list. Good luck, and have fun. The Transhumanist 16:40, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

I love to proof-read; I'll stop by soon. :-) | AndonicO ^{Talk | Sign Here} 16:44, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Ancient Atlantis

Dear Davis: I started to write my article and the lords stopped the publication.Now I know how Galileo felt; tell the lords,please let seedplanter speak.....seedplanter

Who is Davis? Could you please explain what article you are talking about? User:Zoe|(talk) 21:15, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

This dude also hit the Science references desk, see Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Science#Atlantis. 68.39.174.238 08:15, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Image

I'm writing a Masters thesis and would like to use an image included in one of wiki's articles. Is this OK and how/if should I mention it in?

Most of the time it is ok, but it depends on the license. What license does the image you would like to use have? | AndonicO ^{Talk | Sign Here} 18:04, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

For more info, see this page: Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia. GhostPirate 20:05, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Shortening of historic newspaper headlines in references

I am hoping for some feedback on whether to revert a style issue edit or not. I recently created balkline and straight rail, now on the main page as the lead dyk article. The article contains many references to New York Times articles, many of them from the 1800s. I kept in the full original headlines in the references (<ref></ref> format), which I think are interesting and add a gloss of historic information to the article. I also kept in the original title formatting, many of them all uppercase. I of course first checked Wikipedia:Citing sources and a few other related pages before coming here, but found no guidance. See here for the former format of the references; here for the diff shortening the headlines. It is clear that the edit does streamline the references, but again, possibly at the cost of completeness and interest.

So: is there a specific style page giving guidance on this? Do you think the edit is better than the original and should remain? And if I do revert, should I make the headlines title case rather than uppercase to conform to modern convention and for ease of reading?--Fuhghettaboutit 18:11, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Everytime I Edit It Gets Deleted!

On this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Wii_games I am trying to add another name to the list; under K, I want to add "Kid Icarus (Wii)". I do this with no problem, and clearly mark it is a rumoured game.

To back up my newly added info, I give a link to thread on a popular Nintendo Wii site: http://www.wiichat.com/nintendo-wii-gaming/4541-return-classic.html MOST of the info in that thread comes straight from WIKIPEDIA and it has been confirmed on other sites.

Problem is, the next day it gets removed. Why is this? there are other games on the list that are rumours too. But mine gets deleted, I would like an answer please. Thanks. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.152.207.116 (talk • contribs).

I suggest you bring this up at Talk:List of Wii games. -- Rick Block (talk) 19:55, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

You can't use a link which claims to get its information from Wikipedia, as supporting evidence in an edit to Wikipedia. User:Zoe|(talk) 21:17, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Arbitration Committee.

What is the Arbitration Committee and what does it do? Also why does it say those who qualify may vote here instead of just allowing all users to vote?Henchman 2000 19:55, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

The arbitration committee is a group of experienced users who settle long running and serious debates. It is meant as a definitive, last resort method of resolving major disputes. Whenever you see something that says "only established users may vote", it means that only people who have been here a while can vote. This is to prevent someone from making a bunch of sockpuppets and using them to rig the vote. GhostPirate 20:03, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

If you want to read more about the arbitration committee, you can go here. (The Wikipedia Signpost WP:POST also did a series on the arbcom.) As for the "those who qualify may vote here", I'm not sure what it is referring to. If it's about the arbcom elections, it's to ensure that people who are voting on the candidates are actually working on Wikipedia. If it's about voting in arbcom cases, it's simple. Not everyone may vote, it's the arbcom's job to make a decision. - Mgm|^(talk) 20:04, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Foul Language on a Talk Page

I understand that someone should not edit someone else's comments posted on a talk page, but what about something like the following;

DO YOU GUYS EVEN KNOW WHAT THE FUCK YOUR DOING? WHY IS THIS REDIRECTING? DDWRT RUNS ON HUNDREDS OF MODELS OF ROUTERS, NOT JUST WRT54G DUMB NIGGERS!!! STOP REDIRECTING, KEEP ALL 3RD PARTY FIRMWARE ALIVE, ESPECIALLY WHEN STUBS LIKE CHILLISPOT ARE STILL ALIVE!!!--65.11.233.70 18:24, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Should this be allowed to stay? Or should it be removed?--OPaul 20:12, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

That can be reverted as blatant incivility, but it has to be fully reverted, or replaced with "(uncivil comment removed)", not just censored piecewise with the swear words removed. -Amarkov ^blah_edits 20:13, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

I don't see why not! I'd say edit it slightly. Leave swear words in but remove personal attacks. Basically remove "dumb niggers" - without it it's rude but not abusive. Theresa Knott | Taste the Korn 20:17, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. I just reverted it. Talk:DD-WRT --OPaul 20:21, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

It's just that removing only the swear words would probably lead to more trouble with WP:NOT#CENSORED than it's worth. -Amarkov ^blah_edits 20:23, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Oh but wikipedia is censored! We don't allow personal attacks, we don't allow rants, we don't allow unencylopedic content. The policy above relates to articles rather than talk page comments and doesn't really apply here. My MO is use common sense. He clearly lost his temper and would probably appreciate someone toning his words down. Theresa Knott | Taste the Korn 20:29, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

True, but if a revert works fine, no reason to open the possibility of complaints about it. -Amarkov ^blah_edits 20:30, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

What I've got against a revert, is that for all I know, his basic point may very well be valid. I know nothing of the topic in question. Theresa Knott | Taste the Korn 20:35, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Multiple spellings for person's name

How do you handle a person that has been referenced by two names? e.g. Most of the links use Rolf, but several use Rolfe (not the real name)
This would be for the main entry name.
Zeete 20:54, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Create the page under the correct (real) name and add a redirect on the alternative spelling. Trebor 20:57, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

You could use a redirect, having the less common spelling linking to the more common spelling. You could also mention that the person sometimes goes by the other name, if it is valid. -- Natalya 20:58, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Additional materials exists on a foreign language encyclopedia

What is the code to add a tag indicating that additional materials exists on a foreign language Wikipedia? I cannot find the applicable Help page. Thanks! --Thisisbossi 20:55, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Hmm... there is Wikipedia:Interlanguage links and Wikipedia:Interwikimedia link, but are you looking for something more specific that actually says that there is more information in another language? -- Natalya 21:03, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Not quite -- I have seen tags on Talk pages that read something along the lines of "This article has been identified on a foreign language Wikipedia, which may provide more info" I'm not looking for info on how to link to an article; but a template indicating that an article exists on another Wikipedia. Did that make any more sense? --Thisisbossi 21:07, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

I think so - kind of along the lines of the interwiki project links, but for other language wikipedias? And on the talk pages then, of course. But serving that general purpose? I'll see what turns up. -- Natalya 21:21, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Hmm... the best I've been able to find are {{FPOL}}, about featured portals in other languages, and {{RoughTranslation}}, but I don't think either of them are what you're looking for. Sorry I can't be of more help, but perhaps editors familiar with those templates might know of it. Good luck finding it. -- Natalya 22:21, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

I'll just type it out in lieu of a tag. Thanks, anyway! :) --Thisisbossi 04:34, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Copyright problems regarding image

Hi! I drew a prototype train called HSR-350x for the article dedicated to that prototype in order to avoid copyright infringements.

But a Wikipedian, Robth, deleted the image because he said that the work was derivative of the original work. I gave reasons why the drawing was not a copyright infringement.

Albeit it be derivative or not, you cannot ignore the fact that all HSR-350x will look the same from a certain angle, and that there are many photographs for the train. Each and one of those photographs are NOT copyright infringements of the other.

Your interpretation would qualify for duplication of an artistic rendering or construction, where the uniqueness of the idea and design identify the subject. This is none of that.

And in order for the drawing to be accurate, it has to depend on an actual photograph. Reasonability bypasses any possibility of ill intention.

Then he said that A drawing that is a synthesis of a number of photographs would be acceptable. A drawing that is a near tracing of one photograph is not.

Then I showed him all the images that look similar to my drawing.

They're all from the Daum.net image search [6].

Then Robth said, How was your image created? Certain elements of the composition (the angle, the yellow stripe) are strikingly similar to that of the original coprighted image. So I gave a close description of how I created the image.

What do others think? (Wikimachine 21:13, 1 January 2007 (UTC))

The question of "How was your image created?" seems to handle the question. If you, while drawing, copied the image in question, it seems appropriate that that would be considered a derivative (and unless that is allowed the the licensing, then it would be a copyright infringment). However, if, like he mentioned, you studied a number of different images and then drew one of your own, not based on any image in particular, that would qualify more as an individual piece of work. -- Natalya 21:26, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Thx. But here's the gray line. I searched all the images that had the nose on the right and the rest of the body stretching to the left of the image's frame (b/c I thought that would look best when placed in the right side of the article). And then, I picked the highest resolution image with the best overall "look" and color mix & drew. Would that qualify as "studied a number of different images and then drew one of your own". Please understand, it would have been impossible for me to draw an accurate image while making a "averaged coordinate-mapped" drawing & I focused on accuracy (b/c encyclopedias should be accurate). (Wikimachine 23:56, 1 January 2007 (UTC))

[edit] about time signatures of drum

want to know time signature in details and clearly —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 202.56.7.135 (talk • contribs).

Have you read the article on Time signatures? -- Rick Block (talk) 21:49, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Questions about Featured Article Candidates

Usually how long does an article nominated for featured-article status stay on the WP:FAC page before it's decided if it can be a FA or not? I ask this because I nominated this article for FA on Dec. 29, and it still hasn't got a single comment, even though all the other articles after it got comments. Now, I know that the article's subject may not be too interesting or that it might have some flaws, but I don't like the idea of it becoming a failed FA just because it got no comments. Is every article on FAC guaranteed to get some comments? Am I overreacting? Breed Zona 22:30, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Actually this is a good sign - comments are usually mentioning issues or queries. They basically take them from the bottom pretty much. I can't see yours on Dec 29 though - have they used it now? Johnbod 22:46, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

oops, sorry - i thought you were talking about DYK, not FAC - Ignore my last, & be patient Johnbod 22:48, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] creating links

hello, happy new year,

i am a new wikipedia user. I have created an article, but cannot figure out how to create links of certain other people, places, or things that exist within my article to other wikipedia articles about or containing those people, places, and things.

examples: Don Henley, Bellingham, WA, Dead & Breakfast,

can you herlp me with this, please?

thank you,

ahighlandheart

I assume you're talking about the article for Brent David Fraser. To create links you just put a pair of brackets [[ and ]] around the words that you want linked.

Also, you'll want to rewrite that bio. We can't just copy and paste things word for word from other sources. That's plagarism and copyright infringement. See WP:COPYVIO for more info. Dismas|^(talk) 22:45, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

You might want to do the Wikipedia:Tutorial as well to learn more about basic editing. - 131.211.91.150 08:44, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Question about citing text from other websites

I guess I've broken the Do Not Copy Text Rule. I was correcting the Dan Emmett page regarding his authorship of Dixie, and while I was there, I decided to address the myth than Emmett was embarrassed by the popularity of "Dixie" in the Confederacy. To do so, I felt it necessary to show an example, which I quoted several sentences, giving the URL. Under normal scholarly rules, this is not plagiarism, but fair use.

If you delete the quotation, please advise me how to do this correctly. I can't imagine that someone who subscribed to an error and put it online would welcome a request for permission to use it in refutation. Should I simply give the site, and try to paraphrase the languageJosephbyrd 23:12, 1 January 2007 (UTC)?

Thanks,

Joseph ByrdJosephbyrd 23:12, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure that what you did was ok. We can quote text as long as we give the citation (e.g. not plagarism, as you mentioned, or a copyright violation). There's also the concern about people putting excessive quotes, like lists of quotes, but as long as it's a small thing to improve the article, there shouldn't be a problem with it. For example, there's quoted material in Gettysburg Address, and that's a featured article. If I haven't understood your question right of if there's more to it than this, definitely give me a heads up. Let me know on my talk page if you have any questions or want to discuss anything. Peace, delldot | talk 00:56, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

P.S. You can find more info about the guideline in question here —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Delldot (talk • contribs) 01:09, 2 January 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Infobox and wikitable templates

I am a member of WP:NYCPT. We have an infobox called {{Infobox NYCS}} that replaces the hard one. Is it possible to create a template for a wikitable? --Imdanumber1 ( Talk | contribs) 23:56, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

I don't understand, aren't wikitable's template themselves? 68.39.174.238 07:58, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Help!

I am trying to make this my signature.

真夜中

(talk)

(contrib)

Two problems: One, it for some reason each box has a line break in between each for some reason (don't know why), Two, the links aren't working, and Three, whenever I try to save it as my sig (Raw Signature checked) I get "Invalid raw signature; check HTML tags". --<div style="font-family:impact;"><span style="border: 1px; border-style:solid; padding:3px 0px 0px 2px; color:aqua; background-color:black; font-weight:bold"><font size=4>真夜中</font></span></div><div style="font-family:haettenschweiler;"><span style="border: 1px; border-style:solid; padding:1px 0px 0px 2px; color:aqua; background-color:black; font-weight:bold"><font size=2>(talk)</font></span></div><div style="font-family:haettenschweiler;"><span style="border: 1px; border-style:solid; padding:1px 0px 0px 2px; color:aqua; background-color:black; font-weight:bold"><font size=2>(contrib)</font></span></div> 00:22, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Oops, sorry, Red Pooka

The line breaks are because you're using "div"s. If you just use "span"s there won't be line breaks (like with your existing sig). I don't know what the HTML problem is (you might try putting the span outside the link rather than inside). -- Rick Block (talk) 01:21, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

That's WAY too many lines for a sig (WP:SIG), as is your current one. I strongly advise cutting it down to under 4 lines. --W o o ty Woot? contribs 01:33, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Let me see...

真夜中(talk)(contrib)

Huzzah! One more question, is there a way to stack the "(talk)" onto the "(contrib)" button? If it gets too big I can shrink it. :) --Red Pooka 02:12, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Nevermind, I found a workaround! {{User:Midnight 7/signaturetemplate}} = Who cares?, which also fixes the size problem so it's only one line. :) --真夜中^(talk)_(contrib)7 20:32, 2 January 2007 (UTC)